Samikhsya Bureau
Questioning the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at China blocking efforts by India and its global partners, US and France at UN Security Council to designate Masood Azhar as global terrorist, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Modi was scared of Chinese president Xi Jinping.
In a post on social media, Gandhi said, “Weak Modi is scared of Xi. Not a word comes out of his mouth when China acts against India. NoMo’s China Diplomacy: 1. Swing with Xi in Gujarat, 2. Hug Xi in Delhi, 3. Bow to Xi in China.”
The comments by Gandhi came after efforts by India and its global partners, including the US and France, to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist were on Wednesday blocked at the UN security council.
The Bharatiya Janata Party joined the issue with Gandhi and sought to remind him that Beijing’s berth in the powerful UNSC was ‘gifted’ by India’s first prime minister and his grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru.
“China would not be in the UNSC had your great grandfather not ‘gifted’ it to them at India’s cost. India is undoing all mistakes of your family. Be assured that India will win the fight against terror,” went a missive from BJP’s official Twitter handle shortly after Gandhi’s criticism of Modi. “Leave it to PM Modi while you keep cosying up with the Chinese envoys secretly,” BJP’s tweet taunted the Congress president for his supposedly a secret meeting with Chinese officials during the peak of Doklam controversy in 2017.
China on Wednesday yet again blocked the UNSC move to take actions against Masood Azhar by putting on the the technical hold using its veto power.
The BJP’s missive castigating Nehru’s role in ‘gifting’ the membership to China in 1950s come on the historical background that after the United States did its part to deny the UNSC berth to China, it was Nehru who advocated Beijing’s case.
There are multiple reasons cited by contemporary historians and strategic experts for Nehru’s move — one of them being ‘misplaced’ eagerness to play up Asian solidarity, where he felt India and China can be friends and co-travelers in the broader and global journey.
The other reason attributed by many is that Nehru wanted to placate Chinese leadership in the light of increasing acrimony between two countries and India unable to meet up the the military expenditures to deal with Chinese challenges.
In a tweet earlier, Gandhi slammed NDA government and said Prime Minister Modi was being “weak” when it comes to dealing with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
An MEA statement on Wednesday night termed UNSC failure to designate Masood Azhar as global terrorist as “disappointment”.
The government, has however, said that New Delhi “will continue to pursue all available avenues” to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on “our citizens are brought to justice”.
(With agency inputs)
